Process for the production of a thermoplastic elastomer and the thermoplastic elastomer

ABSTRACT

A thermoplastic elastomer contains (a) hard segments of a polyester and (b) soft segments containing repeating units derived from an aliphatic carbonate, wherein the thermoplastic elastomer exhibits a melt flow index (MFI) measured at 230° C. under a load of 10 kg (MFI 230° C./10 kg) according to ISO1133 (2011) of at most 40 g/10 min. The thermoplastic elastomer is produced by subjecting a precursor of the thermoplastic elastomer to solid state post reaction processing at a temperature between 140 and 170° C. until the thermoplastic elastomer has the required MFI of at most 40 g/10 min measured at 230° C. under a load of 10 kg (MFI 230° C./10 kg) according to ISO1133 (2011).

This application is the U.S. national phase of International ApplicationNo. PCT/EP2017/065662 filed Jun. 26, 2017 which designated the U.S. andclaims priority to EP Patent Application No. 16176401.4 filed Jun. 27,2016, the entire contents of each of which are hereby incorporated byreference.

The invention relates to a process for the production of a thermoplasticelastomer containing hard segments (a) of a polyester and soft segments(b) containing repeating units derived from an aliphatic carbonate. Theinvention also relates to the thermoplastic elastomer.

Such a process and thermoplastic elastomer are known from EP-A-0846712.The thermoplastic elastomer known from EP-A-0846712 contains hardsegments of a polyester and soft segments containing repeating unitsderived from an aliphatic carbonate, the hard and the soft segmentsbeing linked by a urethane group. The thermoplastic elastomer shows goodmechanical properties and has superior thermal and hydrolyticalstability. Compositions containing the thermoplastic elastomer findtherefore application in all kind of fields, inter alia in the field ofelectrics and electronics, especially as cover for cables, for examplecables for connecting devices to computers, such as for exampleautomotive cables for use under the hood, railway cables, heatingcables, and industrial cables, e.g. used in robotics, off-shore, etc.

Especially because of the good thermal stability, the thermoplasticelastomer would be very suitable for the production of containers andhoses, i.a containers and hoses for use under the hood of a car, such asfor example air ducts. Such containers and hoses are preferably producedby blow molding, more preferably by suction blow molding. A problemhowever is that the thermoplastic elastomer known from EP-A-0847612 isnot suitable for use in a blow molding process, since the visco-elasticproperties do not fulfill the demands for that process.

During blow molding in a first step a molten preform, often a tube-likepiece of molten plastic called parison, is formed. The preform is thenclamped in a mold and blown-up with compressed air against the cool wallof the mold to cool down into the end product. Preferably suction blowmolding is used. In that case the parison is in a second step drawn intothe mold via vacuum and in a third step the parison is blown withcompressed air against the cool wall of the mold. With suction blowmolding the amount of waste polymer is reduced. A problem that occursduring the blow molding is that during the preparation of the parisonand its handling, the parison sags under its own weight and it is notpossible to produce a product out of it any more.

Attempts have been made to alter the visco-elastic properties by solidstate post-reaction of a precursor thermoplastic elastomer to obtain thethermoplastic elastomer with higher molecular weight and consequentlyhigher viscosity. Solid state post-reaction, like solid statepost-condensation is normally carried out by heating the thermoplasticelastomer to just below its melting point and keeping it at thattemperature, until the desired increase in molecular weight has beenobtained. A problem that occurs however is that the melting temperatureof the precursor thermoplastic elastomer drops during the process ofpost-condensation, so that it is not suitable any more for use atelevated temperatures, for instance at temperatures under the hood. Thisis highly disadvantageously, because this is an important area ofapplication of the thermoplastic elastomer, due to the excellent thermalstability of the polymer.

Furthermore the required viscosity was not obtained during the solidstate post-reaction.

Object of the present invention is to develop a process for theproduction of a thermoplastic elastomer containing hard segments (a) ofa polyester and soft segments (b) containing repeating units derivedfrom an aliphatic carbonate, which thermoplastic elastomer is suitablefor use in a blow molding process, that do not show the problemsoutlined above.

Surprisingly this object has been obtained if a precursor thermoplasticelastomer is subjected to solid state post-reaction at a temperaturebetween 140 and 170° C.

The hard segments (a) of a polyester contain repeating units formed fromat least one aromatic dicarboxylic acid and at least one aliphatic diol.Suitable aromatic dicarboxylic acids include inter alia isophthalic orterephthalic acid, 2,6-naphthalenedicarboxylic acid and4,4′-diphenyldicarboxylic acid. Also very suitable is a mixture of4,4′-diphenyldicarboxylic acid and 2,6-naphthalenedicarboxylic acid or amixture of 4,4′-diphenyldicarboxylic acid and terephthalic acid. Themixing ratio between the two carboxylic acids is preferably chosenbetween 40:60-60:40 on weight basis.

Suitable aliphatic diols for the hard segment a) are inter alia thealkylene glycols. The number of C atoms in the alkylene radical ispreferably 2-6. Ethylene glycol, propylene glycol and butylene glycolare preferred. 1,4-Butylene glycol is most preferred.

Most preferably the hard segment (a) of a polyester contains asrepeating units butylene terephthalate.

The soft segment (b) is made up of repeating units from at least onealkylene carbonate.

Preferably as alkylene carbonate repeating unit is represented by theformula:

where R=H and/or alkyl.X=2-20.

Preferably, R is H or alkyl.

More preferred R=H and x=6 and the alkylene carbonate is thereforehexamethylene carbonate.

The soft segment b) may, next to the units from at least one aliphaticcarbonate, contain repeating units derived from an aliphatic diol, andan aliphatic dicarboxylic acid or repeating units derived from alactone.

The thermoplastic elastomer may next to soft segments b) also containsoft segments c) derived from an aliphatic diol and an aliphaticdicarboxylic acid. The aliphatic diol used in b) and c) is preferably analkylene diol containing 2-20 C atoms, more preferably 3-15 C atoms inthe chain. The aliphatic dicarboxylic acid used in b) and c) ispreferably an alkylene dicarboxylic acid containing 2-20 C atoms,preferably 4-15 C atoms in the chain. Preferably c) contains butyleneadipate as repeating unit.

The thermoplastic elastomer may next to soft segments b) also containsoft segments d) derived from a lactone. The lactone used in b) and d)is preferably polycaprolactone.

The contents of hard segments and soft segments may vary within widelimits and are primary determined by the desired mechanical properties.Thermoplastic elastomers having a high content of hard segments have agreater rigidity and higher melting point. On the other handthermoplastic elastomers having a low content of hard segments are muchmore flexible and have a lower melting point. The weight ratio betweenhard segments and soft segments in the thermoplastic elastomer may varybetween 20:80 and 90:10, preferably between 30:70 and 80:20.

The hard segments of the polyester and the soft segments may suitably bebonded via ester bonds to form copolyester units and said copolyesterunits being joined to one another by (e) a urethane group having theformula:

Where R¹=an alkyl, aryl or aralkyl group and p=2 or 3.

The content of the urethane group (e) is usually between 2 and 7 wt. %based on the total of the thermoplastic elastomer.

Usual diisocyanates used to form the urethane group are inter aliaparatoluene diisocyanate, diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI), xylenediisocyanate, hexamethylene diisocyanate and isophorone diisocyanate.

Preparation of the precursor thermoplastic elastomer is for instancedescribed in EP-A-0846712 and a suitable preparation method may containthe steps of:

1. reacting polyester hard segment a) with an aromatic dicarboxylicacid, an aliphatic polycarbonate diol segment b) and if desired analiphatic polyester segment c) and/or a polylactone segment d) with oneanother in the presence of a catalyst at elevated temperature for alimited period of time, while removing any volatile reaction productsformed.2. Deactivating the catalyst at least partially.3. Adding a difunctional and/or a multifunctional isocyanate, such as atrifunctional isocyanate, to block the copolyester under 1 andcontinuing the reaction.Prior to the solid state post-reaction the precursor thermoplasticelastomer may be subjected to a compounding step. Additives mixed withthe precursor thermoplastic elastomer may be antioxidants, dyes orpigments, UV absorbers, hydrolytic stabilizers, anti-static agents,fillers, lubricants etc. Between 0.1 and 5 parts by weight of theadditives at 100 parts by weight of the precursor thermoplasticelastomer may be added. The compounding step may be carried out by dryblending followed by extrusion. It is also possible that additives areadded during the solid state post-reaction to stick to the particles ofthe thermoplastic polymer or to be absorbed by the particles.

The thermoplastic elastomer is, preferably after the compounding step,subjected to a solid state post-reaction at a temperature between 140°C. and 170° C., preferably above 150° C. and preferably below 165° C.,more preferably below 160° C. The solid state post-reaction may becarried out between 4 and 32 hours, preferably between 12 and 24 hours.Normally the post-reaction is carried out on particles of thethermoplastic polymer, suitably on pellets.

The post-reaction of the polymer composition according to the presentinvention may be carried out by any mode and in any apparatus suitablefor that purpose. The process can suitably be carried out, for example,as a batch process (e.g. in a tumble dryer) or as a continuous process(e.g. in a moving bed reactor).

The solid state post-reaction is preferably performed until thethermoplastic elastomer has a melt flow index measured at 230° C. undera load of 10 kg (MFI 230° C./10 kg), according to ISO1133 (2011) of atmost 40 g/10 min, preferably at most 30 g/10 min, more preferably atmost 25 g/10 min.

Preferably, the polymer composition contains less than 0.3 wt % of areactive additive. More preferably, the polymer composition does notcontain a reactive additive. Reactive additives are known per se, andrefer to additives which react with the thermoplastic elastomer duringmelt-processing, such as for example during blow molding. Reactiveadditives are for example glycidyl compounds such as glycidyl groupcontaining styrenic polymers, trimethyol propane triglycidyl ether,polyglycidyl ether of castor oil, 1,3,5-triglycidyl isocyanurate,tris(4-hydroxyphenyl)methane triglycidyl ether,N,N-diglycidyl-4-glycidyloxyaniline,4,4′-Methylenebis(N,N-diglycidylaniline), poly[(o-cresyl glycidylether)-co-formaldehyde]. Preferably, the polymer composition containsless than 0.3 wt % glycidiyl compound. This has the advantage that uponprocessing, the viscosity remains more stable.

The invention also relates to a thermoplastic elastomer containing hardsegments (a) of a polyester and soft segments (b) containing repeatingunits derived from an aliphatic carbonate and to the thermoplasticelastomer having a melt flow index measured at 230° C. under a load of10 kg (MFI 230° C./10 kg), according to ISO1133 (2011) of at most 40g/10 min, preferably at most 30 g/10 min, more preferably at most 25g/10 min. Preferably the thermoplastic elastomer according to theinvention has a melting temperature measured with DSC, according to ISO11357-1:1997 under air atmosphere (purge 50 ml/min) using a heating andcooling rate of 20 K/min of at least 180° C., preferably at least 190°C., more preferably at least 200° C., most preferably at least 205° C.

Preferably, the thermoplastic elastomer according to the invention has—OH end groups, which has the advantage that the end groups do not haveto be modified, which allows for a more simple process for preparation.

The invention also relates to a process for blow molding a polymercomposition consisting of or containing the thermoplastic elastomeraccording to the invention.

Blow molding, also known as blow forming, is a manufacturing process bywhich in general hollow thermoplastic articles are formed. In principlethe process has two phases. First, a pre-form (or parison) of moltenthermoplastic composition is formed, often in a tubular shape. Secondthe hot pre-form is expanded and pressed against a mold cavity. Thetemperature of the mold is low enough, so that the polymer compositionwill solidify. Once the plastic has cooled and solidified the mold opensup and the part is ejected.

The hot preform is generally expanded by a compressed gas, usually air.Preferably the process according to the invention is a suction blowmolding process. In the suction blow molding process the preform is,after being placed in the mold, stretched by applying a vacuum is themold in a first step and expanded against the wall of the mold in asecond step by applying compressed air in the preform.

Good examples of shaped objects that may be formed with the process ofthe present invention further include air ducts, corrugated tubes, thatmay be used for the production of jounce bumpers, covers for constantvelocity joints in car industry etc.

EXAMPLES

Materials Used:

-   -   Arnitel CM551, a copolymer containing polybutyleneterephtalate        hard segments and polyhexamethylenecarbonate soft segments,        having an MFI (230° C., 10 kg) of 60 g/10 min and a melting        temperature of 205° C.    -   Arnitel CM622, a copolymer containing polybutyleneterephtalate        hard segments and polyhexamethylenecarbonate soft segments,        having an MFI (230° C., 10 kg) of 65 g/10 min and a melting        temperature of 208° C.        Test Methods:    -   The melting temperature was measured with DSC, according to ISO        11357-1:1997 under air atmosphere (purge 50 ml/min) using a        heating and cooling rate of 20 K/min.    -   The melt flow index (MFI) was measured according to ISO 1133        (2011).

Comparative Experiments A, B, C, D and E and Examples I and II

25 grams of Arnitel CM622 pellets were loaded in a tubular reactor of100 ml and heated to various temperatures under a continuous nitrogenflow of 500 grams/hour during 20 hours. The MFI and the meltingtemperature of the resulting material were measured. The results aregiven in table 1.

TABLE 1 Comp. Exp./ Reaction Temperature MFI Melting Temperature Example(° C.) (g/10 min) (° C.) A 80 63 205 B 110 55 204 C 130 47 203 I 150 27203 II 170 15 199 D 180 42 190 E 190 65 180

Comparative Experiment F and Example III

25 grams of Arnitel CM551 pellets were loaded in a tubular reactor of100 ml and heated to various temperatures under a continuous nitrogenflow of 500 grams/hour during 16 hours. The MFI and the meltingtemperature of the resulting material were measured. The results aregiven in table 2.

TABLE 2 Comp. Exp./ Reaction Temperature MFI Melting Temperature Example(° C.) (g/10 min) (° C.) III 150 16 199 F 185 >200 Amorphous

At low reaction temperatures (comparative experiments A, B and C) nosufficient decrease in MFI is obtained, although no significant decreasein melting temperature is observed.

At high reaction temperatures (comparative experiments D, E and F) evenan increase in MFI is observed, and a steep decrease in meltingtemperature is observed.

At temperatures between 140° C. and 170° C. both the significantdecrease in MFI is obtained as required, while maintaining the meltingtemperature at an acceptable level.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A process for the production of athermoplastic elastomer containing (a) hard segments of a polyester and(b) soft segments comprising repeating units derived from an aliphaticcarbonate, wherein the process comprises subjecting a precursorthermoplastic elastomer to solid state post-reaction processing at atemperature between 140 and 170° C. until the thermoplastic elastomerhas a melt flow index (MFI) measured at 230° C. under a load of 10 kg(MFI 230° C./10 kg), according to ISO1133 (2011) of at most 40 g/10 min.2. The process according to claim 1, wherein the precursor thermoplasticelastomer is subjected to solid state post-reaction at a temperaturebelow 165° C.
 3. The process according to claim 1, wherein the hardsegments (a) of a polyester contain as repeating units butyleneterephthalate.
 4. The process according to claim 1, wherein softsegments (b) contain alkylene carbonate repeating unit is represented byFormula I:

where R=H and/or alkyl; and X=2-20.
 5. The process according to claim 1,wherein the hard segments (a) and the soft segments (b) are bonded viaester bonds forming copolyester units and the copolyester units arejoined by a urethane group having the formula:

where R1=an alkyl, aryl or aralkyl group and p=2 or
 3. 6. Athermoplastic elastomer comprising: (a) hard segments of a polyester,and (b) soft segments which comprise repeating units derived from analiphatic carbonate, wherein the thermoplastic elastomer has a melt flowindex (MFI) measured at 230° C. under a load of 10 kg (MFI 230° C./10kg) according to ISO1133 (2011) of at most 40 g/10 min.
 7. Thethermoplastic elastomer according to claim 6, wherein the MFI of thethermoplastic elastomer is at most
 30. 8. The thermoplastic elastomeraccording to claim 6, wherein the thermoplastic elastomer has a meltingtemperature measured with DSC according to ISO 11357-1:1997 under airatmosphere (purge 50 ml/min) using a heating and cooling rate of 20K/min is at least 180° C.
 9. The thermoplastic elastomer according toclaim 8, wherein the melting temperature of the thermoplastic elastomeris at least 200° C.
 10. The thermoplastic elastomer according to claim6, wherein the hard segments (a) comprise butylene terephthalate asrepeating units.
 11. The thermoplastic elastomer according to claim 6,wherein the soft segments (b) comprise repeating units represented byFormula I:

where R=H and/or alkyl; and X=2-20.
 12. A process for forming ablow-molded article which comprises blow molding a polymer compositioncomprising the thermoplastic elastomer according to claim
 6. 13. Theprocess according to claim 12, wherein the process is suction blowmolding.
 14. A shaped object comprising the thermoplastic elastomeraccording to claim 6, wherein the shaped object is an air duct, acorrugated tube for the production of jounce bumpers or a cover for aconstant velocity joint.